[Reviewer Note: The above text and photo may be copied and pasted from the below or forwarded on the Internet at: www.atD21.com/CEMs30th]

On our 30th anniversary your colleagues (and friends) send greetings. Our personal messages hint at the regard in which we hold you. Newly indoctrinated Richard Almond (PhD) speaks for us all in saying that our time with CEM is life changing. You have given us purpose, and courage and faith that we can make a difference. In Amanda's words, "work we really believe in".

But that would be of little matter did not our work touch the lives of so many. Jeff Searle tells of using COMBSE/ALIS to help get the best for his students. Just how many teachers use the systems you instigated we shall never know – must be tens, hundreds of thousands. Our work affects literally millions, and in terms of Neil's "CEF", Carol's Extended Family is increasingly international.

All this from your passion in life: to learn from everyone you meet, to get the best from us all. To not let social convention get in the way of doing the right thing, not deferring to dubious authority. Instead to nurture an environment to which everyone is encouraged to contribute.

Thirty years on, the challenges remain much the same: to counteract anecdote with science, to show (the genius of!) how statistics can be used to the benefit of the individual, and to spread the word more effectively. As John says, we are still working hard, full of ideas and hopes, "in for the long haul".

And it's working: just one statistic ... from Peter, 16,000 downloads of your paper on Technical and Ethical issues. Every day someone somewhere discovers how we might educate better.

We are sorry you can't be with us on this occasion Carol, but your spirit remains inspiring our work every day.

We join Carole, your ever attentive secretary, in sending you "Lots of love",